Chris Olsen

President

The Horticare Co.

Little Rock

Chris Olsen

Chris Olsen has literally turned the landscape business in Little Rock upside down. And in the process, The Horticare Co. has grown from 42 employees (three maintenance and landscape crews) in 1992 to 125 employees and 11 crews (including five landscape and three irrigation crews as well as a chemical crew) today.

And Olsen finally has the nursery he's long sought, moving into the old Burnham Wood nursery site at Interstate 430 and Stagecoach Road.

The 32-year-old Olsen brought to town his love of colorful flowers and plants that he grew up with in San Diego. "When I came to town, it was wide open. No one was doing anything different," he says. "The key to our success is that we are able to change the market."

It took an aggressive approach, but by changing the rules and making bold, beautiful splashes of color for apartment complexes and office complexes, Olsen created the market in which he is now so successful.

"If you're good at something, do the best you can and you'll succeed," Olsen says. "I never give up trying to do the best I can do and making the clients happy."

Among his notable work achievements are Westlake Corporate Park, Park Plaza, Calais and The Groves at Pleasant Valley.

He's on the board of the Arkansas Flower/Garden Show, did the landscape work for the Arkansas Symphony Design House, and is a supporter of RAIN.